Cosmetic containers



Jan. 7, 1958 s. M. CROCE ETAL cosMETxc coNT'AINERs Filed June 3, 1.955

United States Patent @fi COSMETICLCONTANIERS SantyfM. Croce; Hauppauge,andiJohniWSolomon, New York, N. Y., lassignors` toCotyf-InegNew York; N.Y. .sa `corporation .of Delaware Application June 3; 1955,*Serial No.513,138

21 Claims. i (Cl. 206-56) "This im/entionrelatesl to cosmetic containersand method `of-filling the same-and isidescribed in connection with alipstick case although other `cosmetic substancesu may be involved.

Conventional Vlipsticks 4employ a plurality of inner sleeves and includea followerwhich is'airially actuated in response to rotative .movementof. a base. `lt has been suggested,'from time to time, to simplify thisarrange ment and variousrexpedients have been .devised but, as far as Weare aware, without particular-success.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the object of the present invention toprovide a cosmetic container ofthe `above type which .assumes extremelysimplified form `although completelyreliable in operation. This caseemploys a minimum -ofyfparts as will hereinafter-bershown :and` mayadvantageously be formed of plastic with no metallic parts if sodesired.

An important feature of the instant invention is the fact thattheimprovedflipsti'ck case can. befilled directly with the lipsticksubstance instead of being ^'molded 4in `:a `mold and then transferredto aholder'which is part of the conventional lipstick case. This is amost important feature as economizing on expense of production as willbe recognized. In the form shown, the object is realized by introducingthe cosmetic material through the open bottom of the cylinder as well asof the holder and employing a liner or the like to insulate or space theinjected substance from the walls of the cylinder while imparting to itthe desired oval shape at its top end. Thereafter a closure is appliedto said open bottom.

The invention will be further understood from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

Figure l is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of a lipstick caseconstructed according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View similar to Figure l and illustrating theaction of the eXtensible motion transmission element;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the extensible motion transmissionelement per se; and

Figure 4 is a view illustrating the method of filling the case.

The cosmetic case comprises an outer cylinder which may be formed of anysuitable plastic material although it may be metal if desired. The innerwall thereof is rifled with conventional spiral grooves 11 although asingle groove may be employed. Rotatably and axially movable within thecylinder 10 is the follower holder 12 which is concentric with thecylinder and formed with pins or projections 13 engaged by the grooves11. As will be well understood, rotation of the holder 12 causes it tomove axially within the cylinder 10 for the purpose of advancing orretracting the cosmetic substance.

A rotatable base 14 is provided and such base has an upper inturnedflange 15 which engages the lower out ward flange 16 at the base ofcylinder 10. The engagement is such as yto permit relative rotationbetween the two elements as will be well understood.

ll7 may befformed of a resilient plastic, i. e., nylon.

2,818,973 `Patented Jan. 7, 1958 A motion transmission element' 17 whichisextensible is connected to both the base 14 and the holder 12. ElementIt will be found that such material when in the form `of a series offolded plates as illustrated, is capable'of transmitting rotary movementfrom the-base 14 to the holder i2 even while extending itself since itmaintainsitself rigid in respect to torque transmission.

Extensible element`17 comprisesan'integral topplate or section 1S whichis planar and which is formed with inwardly bevelled sides 19constituting `a dovetail joint. Integrally connected with the topsection 18 `is aseries of fiat folds 2G each of which, like top section18, is rectangular, being shown las substantially square. The thicknessof such folds is in the order `of .050 inch. The last fold is connectedto the bottom section 21ewhich is shown as being circular. Integral withthe sides of section'21 are a pair of lateral wings or nbevels"22constituting a dovetail joint.

Element 17 Ais connected into the `structure Vby dovetailing itsbevelled `sides 19 into complementary inwardly side bevels 23 at thebase of holder l2. Thus, `it is merely necessary to slide topsectionslfinto-the bevels 23 yso that the resultingengagementisfricticnal. Thereafter, the wings 22 arefrictio-nally`engaged by inward* bevels 24 of the base ifs, such `bevelsf2li resting`upon the bottom element 21 lbetween the bevels 22asillustratedinFigurefZ.

in actual practice,` me baseil-iJmayfirst be assembled with theextensible element17 `a-ndithen lthey may `both be applied. together tothe holder"'12and `cylinderlihby sliding me top sectionlit-'intobevelf23 and vfinally snapping the inturned flange l over`externalflange 16, thus completirln the assembly.

:When basel is rotated fini one `direction.,itnwillrotate theextcnsible`element17,:the. folds resisting;:any twisting action buttransmitting;the:torques'directlyxto:thei'holder f2 through top element18. As the holder rotates'zit must necessarily rise and it will pull theelement 17 upwardly, the folds Zit extending accordingly as they becomelongitudinally unfolded. The resilient, lbendable nature of the nylonmaterial forms natural hinges between the plate-like sections or folds2G so as to permit such eX- treme simplification of the eXtensibleelement while the flat nature of the folds results in satisfactorytorque transmission qualities.

As an additional feature of great importance, we have devised means tofill the lipstick case directly instead of first filling the holder andthereafter assembling it in the case as is conventional practice. Thus,referring to Figure 4 we show a hopper 25 through which the cosmeticsubstance is injected for filling the case. The hopper itself isconventional as is the lipstick substance which is thermoplastic andmaintained in liquid form while it is injected.

The cylinder lu and holder 12 are both deposited in inverted form in asuitable receptacle formed in base 26. However, a spacer or liner 2'7 ofconcave-convex form is interposed between the cylinder l@ and base 26,the open mouth of the liner 27 being disposed within the cylinder litwhile the closed oval-shaped end 2t; rests within the receptacle. Atthis time, the cosmetic substance is applied through the bottom centralopening 29 of the holder 12 and, of course, the bottom opening ofcylinder l0. Such substance fills up the holder as well as the liner 27so as to produce a lipstick of the desired oval shape at its end. Itwill be observed that the lipstick will be shielded from and will notmake contact with the inner walls of cylinder i9 so as to avoid eitherbecoming marred by the rifling, or sticking to such inner walls.

After filling, the base element 14 may be assembled with the extensibleelement 17 and they may be applied 3 as a unit to the bottom end of thecylinder as above set forth so as to complete the assembly thereof.

After the case has been assembled, a cover 2S may be applied as isconventional, such cover having leading edges which rest upon theinturned flange l5 as illustrated in Figure l. lt is optional whetherthe cup-like liner 27 is thereafter retained in place between thelipstick substance 29 and the inner walls of cylinder 1th. Should it beretained in place, the user, after purchasing the lipstick, will simplyremove the liner 27 which may a vantageously take the form of atransparent plastic .member of cup or thimble form. She may then preferto discard the liner. On the other hand, the manufacturer may remove theliner after the case has been lled and the cosmetic substance set,whereupon the cover 2@ will be applied to complete the entire assembly.

There has been shown what is now considered a preferred embodiment ofthe invention but it is obvious that numerous changes and omissions maybe made without departing from its spirit.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cosmetic case including a cylinder, a follower holder adaptedfor simultaneous rotative and axial movement on said cylinder and arotatable base on said cylinder, the provision of means'for actuatingsaid holder, said means comprising an extensible element connected atone end thereof to said base and at the other end to said holder, saidextensible element including a series of flat folded sections normallyoverlying each other and being mutually extensible by unfolding saidsections longitudinally, said extensible element being fabricated of aresilient, bendable plastic material whereby the folds between thesections constitute hinges, said sections being substantially square,the top section thereof being planar and being frictionally engaged withthe bottom of said holder and the bottom section thereof being likewiseplanar and frictionally engaged with said rotatable base, both of saidfrictional engagements comprising slidable dovetail connections.

2. A cosmetic case comprising an outer cylinder, a follower holderadapted for simultaneous rotative and axial movement in said cylinder toadvance or retract a stick of cosmetic substance therein, a baserotatably connected to the bottom end of said cylinder, an extensibleelement con nected at the top end thereof to said holder and at thebottom end thereof to said base, said extensible element comprising afolded resilient plastic member having a connected series of at, foldedplate sections each normally overlying each other whereby the resilienceof the material thereof forms natural hinges between the folded platesections, said cylinder being formed with an internal, spi-ral groove, aprojection on said holder engaging said groove, the top plate section ofsaid series of sections being planar and dovetailed into the bottom ofsaid holder, and the bottom plate section thereof being likewise planarand dovetailed into said rotatable base so as to be movable therewith,and mutually engaging flanges respectively on the top of said base andon the bottom of said cylinder, said cylinder and said base being formedof resilient plastic material whereby saidanges may be snap-fitted toeach other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,565,798 Dillehay Dec. l5, 1925 1,986,259 Fischer Ian. 1, 19352,103,237 Deckert Dec. 28, 1937 2,498,042 Kolber Feb. 2l, 1950 2,655,261C1ark Oct. 13, 1953 2,720,966 Davis Oct. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 35,269France Iuly 16, 1929 (2nd addition of 632,125) 249,508 Switzerland Apr.16, 1948

